Telling Beverly
by scottiegal2012
Summary: Jack Crusher has been killed in one terrible moment, leaving JeanLuc Picard to approach his best friend’s wife and share the grave news with her and her young child.


Title – Telling Beverly

Summery – Jack Crusher has been killed in one terrible moment, leaving Jean-Luc Picard to approach his best friend's wife and share the grave news with her and her young child.

Disclaimer – Paramount's characters and storyline – My details and reactions.

Hours upon hours of sleeplessness ensued the accident on the USS Stargazer as Jean-Luc Picard tossed and turned on the small bed. He knew what he had to do, but it was the last thing he wanted.

Jack Crusher was his best friend and it was Jean-Luc's fault he was dead. Jack was loyal to his death and that irritated Jean-Luc. Perhaps if he weren't loyal to the Federation and Starfleet, he'd be returning to Earth and to his beautiful wife.

Beverly. Ahh, what an amazing wife she had been to Jack for the past 8 years. Her looks were signature; strawberry blond hair with a gentle wave to it; bright piercing eyes with a wild side to them and a smile that would melt the hearts of every Romulan and Klingon that existed. There was nothing they wouldn't do for each other or they wouldn't do for their son, Wesley. Wesley would be 6 years old next month. He remembered it because his own brother shared the same birthday. A wild boy, always dreaming of space, Jean-Luc had met him in the middle of the night. He remembered it well. Beverly had been called into an emergency situation at the Earth Base Medical Facility and had taken Wesley with her. He had wandered off and Beverly had sent Jack and himself to find the child quickly. They found him sitting on the grass, staring up at the starlit sky with a paper towel tube as a telescope. The memories were bringing tears to the normally composed Captain.

How was he going to tell her Jack was gone forever?

After an eternity and a half, they finally broke orbit into Earth's atmosphere. Jean-Luc beamed down into Starfleet Headquarters.

Beverly had been stationed there for a few months as the Chief Officer of Emergency Medicine and it made her miserable. She wanted nothing more than to travel with her husband, but a starship was no place for a young child, so she had settled on Earth.

He peered into the Medical Center reception room and spotted Beverly right away. She was dressed in the formal blue required of Starfleet Science Personnel. A long lab coat, also blue, completed the look. She turned from her work, hypospray in one hand, med charts in the other. Her beautiful smile faded when she saw him.

Passing off her supplies to a nurse nearby, she hurried to him. "Jean-Luc! You're not supposed to be back for another 5 months!"

Her tone revealed she knew something had to be wrong to bring a Starfleet ship home early; especially with the problems on the Romulan Neutral Zone.

"Beverly." He took her arms with his strong hands. "There was an accident, Bev. Jack didn't make it."

She was quite composed, and he was sure if that worried him more or helped to ease him.

They stood there like that for a long moment before he could feel her arms lose every bit of strength. She wasn't holding them up, he was. In fact, he was supporting her entirely. As it dawned on him, they both sunk to the ground where she wrapped her arms around his neck and broke down. She sobbed quietly into his shoulder as his arms held her tight.

He had known what he had to do. He hadn't wanted to do it. Jean-Luc was certainly glad it wasn't a total stranger who gave her the news.

"If there's anything I can do, Beverly… for you or Wesley."

She didn't answer, but he knew she appreciated it and would take the help if she needed it. She held him tight another moment before struggling to stand. She managed a weak smile. "I need to get back to work. Keep someone else from dying."

He nodded understandingly. Being a doctor never let up. It would keep her mind occupied for a while, but she'd need time to mourn. "Hang on… okay?"

"I will. Wesley will need me, and if that's not a reason, I don't know what is." She hugged him again.

**And that's all she wrote** - - _Written by Officer-In-Blue_ - - **Support the troops, they're protecting your ass.**


End file.
